Project MSX - Beta 2 released! (v0.2a Update)

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Project MSX is a weapons and gameplay mod that brings some elements of modern FPS into your 16 year old Doom, and with this attempting to merge both new-school and old-school styles of FPS gameplay.

In this mod you will have rechargeable shields, they work like the ones in Halo. They fully protect you from any damage until they deplete, when your shields are out you have to take cover or dodge attacks until they recharge and you will be good to fight again. However health doesn't regenerate, so you have to rely on portable medkits to heal yourself.

Players can throw grenades or launch a powerful melee attack at anytime without having to switch weapons, in addition, players will now have the ability to sprint (by holding down the run key and the forward movement key), evade (tapping both the run key and a movement key) and powering up their fists, all these abilities consumes the aux power of your combat suit. (Remember to bind new keys!)

To help the player with these new features, this mod incorporates a custom HUD built completely in ACS.

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It certainly looks as well-done as ever, but I'm not super-psyched about how slowly the player moves. Seems like a troublesome combination when compared to the speed of the enemies and their projectiles. Other than that, it looks great. ;)

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One suggestion I have is if you change ANY aspect of a monster, something about its appearance should change as well.

From the videos you've been releasing, it looks like you've been doing that, but keep in mind that it's going to be a little strange to players that, after many years of playing Doom, have to encounter something that looks like an old monster but plays much differently.

I'm also seconding Xaser's recommendation to change the player's speed. He seems a tad too sluggish from the video, but he should still not be as quick as the Doomguy. Maybe the sprinting could have a damage penalty associated with it, since it leaves the player open for attack? Alternatively, you could slow down a lot of the monsters/projectiles.

Is this just a gameplay mod or will there be additional maps? I'd be willing to contribute to something like this - give this thing the push it needs to be even more awesome. Release the mod first if you want, but this thing could be a standalone game if there's enough content to supplement it.

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It also looks like there may be room for one more weapon. Maybe a projectile one? There already seems to be an imbalance of projectile weapons and hitscan ones (two, versus everything else, minus fists).

The rocket gun looks like it could use some slowing down - either in the rate of fire or the rocket projectiles themselves.

That grenade explosion needs something - maybe a damageless A_Quake() action pointer if it doesn't do that already?

A lot of those monsters could use slowing down. Especially the satyrs that toss a barrage of fireballs. I got frustrated by them just by watching the video. But if you end up slowing them down, maybe increase the fireball damage a little?

The "player" soldiers could use a different sprite set. Maybe the Strife Resistance Soldier sprites with a bit of a recolor? They look like they would fit more (not the Order Acolytes - those look too medieval).

The fact that I've got so much to say is that I'm itching to at least play a beta version. I'd probably have more to say if I did. ;)

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From the thread title, I thought it was going to be something related to this...

What you've done so far looks like it could be interesting, though. I agree that the slowed player speed coupled with the quicker enemies seems like it might not be that fun, but it's tough to tell from the videos alone. Looking forward to seeing more. :)

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One suggestion I have is if you change ANY aspect of a monster, something about its appearance should change as well.

In the video most of the monsters are just Doom 2 monsters with increased speed, I did that just for the sake of demonstration. I plan to add new sprites for all the monsters.

I'm also seconding Xaser's recommendation to change the player's speed. He seems a tad too sluggish from the video, but he should still not be as quick as the Doomguy. Maybe the sprinting could have a damage penalty associated with it, since it leaves the player open for attack? Alternatively, you could slow down a lot of the monsters/projectiles.

Well, since the player now have rechargeable shields I slowed him down to compensate for that, the player also can sprint and perform an evasion maneuver to quickly get out of danger but both moves uses the same energy pool. However I do could slow down the speed of the projectiles or the amount of the projectiles those enemies toss.

Just to let you know, right now the monsters need a LOT of work. Both graphically and gameplay wise.

Is this just a gameplay mod or will there be additional maps?

Right now, just a gameplay mod.

It also looks like there may be room for one more weapon. Maybe a projectile one? There already seems to be an imbalance of projectile weapons and hitscan ones (two, versus everything else, minus fists).

There will be more weapons in the mod. Probably 3 more.

The rocket gun looks like it could use some slowing down - either in the rate of fire or the rocket projectiles themselves.

That's the auto-cannon. The weapon will overheat if fired constantly. I think that's the trade off for how fast the weapon fires.

That grenade explosion needs something - maybe a damageless A_Quake() action pointer if it doesn't do that already?

It already has the code pointer, maybe I just extend the duration of it.

The fact that I've got so much to say is that I'm itching to at least play a beta version. I'd probably have more to say if I did. ;)

Thank for your interest man! :D

As long as the running speed is faster than in Hideous Destructor, I'm cool with it.

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It already has the code pointer, maybe I just extend the duration of it.

I think just the radius needs changing, then. A radius of at least 512 or 640 units or so should be fine. If it's close, the player would feel the tremor. If far, not at all. The duration should be during the "bulk" of the explosion frames.

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In this day and age, the only modern FPS' that use health meters are the F.E.A.R. series and Halo (as well as Halo Reach), and for the WAD to be based on those two games just gets me all giddy inside.
Besides, there's already been a Painkiller style mod, and there is yet to be a mod that perfectly replicates the chaos that is Serious Sam.

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I love this mod, it possesses some very interesting and fun new variations to traditional Doom gameplay.

My biggest suggestion would be to make it so the monsters have to actually turn around instead of just instantly facing the player when awoken or approached from behind. I don't know if that is possible to be programed in Doom but it would be very fitting for this mod and would make a significant difference.

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I downloaded and played the beta. It is quite enjoyable and the sounds are well placed.

Just a couple of issues:

Can you add a check at the beginning of the firing frame for each weapon to check for nonzero reserve ammo if the player has no fireable ammo, and if so, force a reload? The lack of auto-reload got pretty frustrating.

The imp replacements (satyrs) are way too missile-spammy. I loaded up Doom II MAP10 and I got nearly overwhelmed by the amount of projectiles I needed to dodge. Maybe slow down the rate of fire, and make the fireballs slightly more damaging?

I think that the marines move way too fast/erratically. Maybe their chase behavior could be altered a bit? A couple of A_WANDER calls could make it look like they are actively trying to find more advantageous positions in combat.

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How did I miss this? For all the various mods that try and add modern shooter elements to Doom, this one seems like the best. Even the older video you posted looks really fun and action packed. Could you maybe upload a new video?

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It's pretty cool, but IMO the death sounds for the humans are way too long.

Yeah, there's that one that lasts for about 2 seconds. Maybe fudge with SNDINFO so that it either happens with less frequency (if the choice is linearly random using a "$random" directive) or just remove it altogether.

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Is there a way to fix the HUD for widescreen? You can also see weapons cutoff when reloading.
Do I have to play this in 4:3 format? Kind of sucks with a 16:10 monitor :) I'd have to play it in windowed mode I guess or live with stretched 4:3 fullscreen on my monitor =(

Edit//
Well played it now with a few wads and it does in fact change the gameplay. But for me it's too radical and doesn't suit Doom to well.

What I'd like to see is a version that doesn't change the enemies and just uses the normal imp, shotgun dudes, chaingunners, etc.

While the running is quite cool, I am really annoyed by the dodge function. Sometimes I just want to run for a short time but then I fly across the room cause of the dodge.